Obama understands social media

Barrack Obama has changed the game when it comes to political campaigning. Using grassroots campaigning and a savvy online presence he has raised record amounts of funding and encouraged amazing voter turnout during the Democratic Primaries.

Now he is thanking his voter base by allowing them to be the first to know his Vice Presidential running mate via email and text message rather than in a traditional press conference announcement.

The following news clipping demonstrate this remarkable change in political campaigning

Excerpt from Wall Street Journal

Marking another first in his historic presidential bid, expected Democratic nominee Barack Obama will be the first presidential candidate to announce his vice president via email and text message, his campaign said Sunday.

“Barack will announce his VP candidate choice through txt msg between now & the Conv. Tell everyone to text VP to 62262 to be the first to know! Please forward,” read the text sent by the campaign Sunday evening.

David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, also sent out an email Sunday advising supporters to sign up for the campaign’s email alerts in order to “be the first to know” Obama’s running mate.

Obama’s on vacation with his family in Hawaii until Aug. 16 and an announcement is unlikely from the beaches of Honolulu — that gives the Illinois senator just nine days between his return and the start of the convention in Denver on Aug. 25.

Expected Republican nominee John McCain has not said when — or how — he will announce his running mate. The Republican convention begins Sept. 1 in St. Paul, Minn.

and from AdAge.com......

What Obama Can Teach You About Millennial Marketing

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Baby boomers and Gen Xers declared mass marketing dead long ago. We live in a world of fragmented media surrounded by cynical consumers who can spot and block an ad message from a mile away. But what Gen Xers and boomers may not realize is that the unabashed embrace of select brands by millennials, from technology to beverages to fashion, has made this decade a true golden era of marketing for those who know what they're doing. And when it comes to marketing, the Barack Obama campaign knows what it's doing.

Mr. Obama's brand management, unprecedented in presidential politics, shows pitch-perfect understanding of the keys to appealing to the youngest voters.

Perhaps inevitably, among the first apps introduced for Apple's new iPhone -- the latest success from another millennial mass marketer -- was an Obama "Countdown to Change" calendar that ticks off the seconds until Election Day.

So what's the appeal to the under-30 set? True, the youth vote traditionally skews Democratic, but the difference this year is that Mr. Obama has actually motivated turnout. His success, it seems, is a result of both product and the branding behind it. The qualities he projects -- a cool, smooth aura, the communal values of hope and unity, his teeming crowds and his campaign's seamless graphics -- are the essence of appealing to millennials.

"Millennials want someone smart, funny and with a slight edge," observes Allison Mooney, who tracks youth trends for Fleishman-Hillard's Next Great Thing. Mr. Obama's occasional prickly moments, as when he dismissed Mr. McCain's recent ad comparing him to Paris Hilton -- "Is this the best you can do?" -- shows them he gets it. "Obama's kind of mellow. He doesn't have polarizing views."

Communal, pro-social
According to Mr. Howe, Gen Xers required niche marketing: "If too many people liked something, it wasn't cool." But mass brand experiences, from the iPod to Harry Potter, appeal strongly to millennials, who have been shown to be a more communal, pro-social generation than their predecessors.

While critics see Mr. Obama's penchant for mass gatherings as arrogant, Mr. Howe finds it perfect for millennials: "They're more civically connected, and they find strength in numbers."

According to Fleishman-Hillard's Ms. Mooney, the Obama campaign's mastery of cutting-edge social media, through the my.barackobama.com site (known internally as "MYBO"), is optimized for millennial appeal. For this generation, "the new pronoun is me, my. Using my-dot brings it to a personal level."

The MYBO site shows that Mr. Obama's campaign has made the leap from CRM (customer relationship management) to CMR (customer-managed relationship) better than many commercial marketers, according to Ms. Mooney. "Young people want to be in control of their relationship with a brand. They want to customize and personalize," as they can on iTunes, Mobile Me and YouLocate. The campaign's site allows this with its use of tagging, discussion boards, photo uploads and other interactive elements.

Of course, most young people will never find their way to the Obama site. But, as with commercial brands, those that do will be Mr. Obama's "passionistas" -- his power users and brand ambassadors.